Welt-turning apparatus in straight bar knitting machines



flame 24 WEQ A G EDWARDS ETAL 2,495,574

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1946 1'? Sheets-Sheet l 524k A Horneyg I Jan, 4 Tl5 T A. G. EDWARDS ET AL. 2,495,574

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1946 17 Sheets-Sheet 2 mm) A. G. EDWARDS ET A1. 2,495,574!

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1946 17 Sheets-Sheet 5 17 E 6/ l p I 0 1 Allurneyd Jan 24-, WU A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 2,495,574

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1946 17 Sheets-Sheet 4 A. G. EDWARDS ET AL WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Jam. 24 15 17 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 23, 1946 Jam 3% WW]? A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 2,495,5M

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1.946 17 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG. /3a

' A Howey;

Jam 241-, w@ A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 2,495,5?4

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1946 17 Sheets-Sheet '7 FIG /3b E 53 A. ca. EDWARDS ET AL 2,495,574

WELT-'TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1.946 17 Sheets-Sheet 8 FIG. /3a

WU A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 2,495,574

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1946 17 SheetsSheet 9 Jam. 24, WU A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 2,495,574

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1946 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 10 M, Alto/nay: 1

A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 2,495,574 WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1946 17 Sheets-Sheet ll 48 9 /54 I E l 1-55 w 1 Q: I O

' I A ltorneys diam, 241-, Ti 5 A G EDWARDS ET AL 2,495,5Y4

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1946 1 1'7 Sheets$heet l2 jam 24, W%@ A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 2,495,574-

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE 7 Filed April 25, 1946 1'7 Sheets-Sheet l3 wag/Niamey:

WU A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 2 495,?4

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1946 17 Sheets-Sheet l4 I 4s l IN Fame 24% W5@ A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 9 5 WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1946 17 Sheets-Sheet 15 m Altorneyf Jan 2% WW A. G. EDWARDS ET AL 5 WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1946 I17 Sheets-Sheet l6 W Allorney;

Jim. 24L WU A. G. EDWARDS ETAL 2,495,574

WELT-TURNING APPARATUS IN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 23, .1946 17 Sheets-Sheet 17 YEW Attorneys Patented Jan. 24, 1950 lTED STAT l;-..1[

FEICE WELT-TURNING APPARATUS EN STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING IVEACHIINES Application April 23, 1946, Serial No. 64,22'6 in Great Britain .Lanuary 19, 19 15 (Cl. G l-95) 17 Glaims.

This invention comprises improvements in and relatin to welt-turning apparatus in Cottons patent and other straight bar knitting machines, especially those specifically intended for the manufacture of the blanks for ladies fully fashioned stockings.

The welt-turning apparatus according to this invention comprises welt hooks for drawing the wet fahric away from the needles; and transfer points, co-operating therewith, for receiving thread kinks of an initial welt course and transferring them to the hooks, and for subsequently receiving them again from the hooks transferring them to the needles. Preferably the hooks and points recede from the needles in unison, the points receive the kinks from the hooks upon the insertion of the usual welt rod or wire, and the points subsequently move away from the hooks to a transfer position in which they offer the kinks to the needles.

The invention further includes welt-turning apparatus comprising transfer points, means for inserting them beneath the sinkers to receive thread kinks of an initial welt course, underturned welt hooks for cooperating with the points, means for engaging the hooks and points and for retracting them in unison from the needles whereby the kinks are taken by the hooks,

1 associated with the points for limiting the movement of the kinks of the initial course off the hooks and along the points upon a welt rod or equivalent take-up becoming operative, and means for disengagin the points and hooks and for moving the points to transfer the initial course to the needles.

The foregoing and other features of the invention set out in the appended claims are incorporated in the apparatus and method of operation which will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figures 1 to 9 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the apparatus;

Figure 10 is a view on a larger scale showing the engagement between the welt hooks and transfer points during the knitting of the welt;

Figure 11 is a view on a larger scale showing the engagement between the transfer points and needles during the act of turnin the welt;

Figures 12a and 12?) are cross sections through the knittin machine;

Figures l3c, 13b and 130 are front elevations and Figures 14a, 14b, 140 are plans of the relevant parts of the machine;

Figure 15 is an end elevation, on a larger scale, of the needle bar, welt bars and associated parts of one section of the machine showing the z'sech-anism in the starting position, and

Figure 16 is a like View showing the mechanism durin the act of turning the welt;

Figure 1'! is a front elevation of the welt bars for one section of the machine and Figure 18 is a corresponding plan;

Figure 3.9 is a sectional view illustrating mechanism controlling the front automatic shaft hereinafter referred to;

Figure 20 is a detailed view showing a representative truck shogging mechanism operable by said shaft;

Figure 21 is a detail showin the means for advancing the welt bars to take the initial course;

Figure 22 is a detail of the mechanism for racking the needle bars endwise to half a needle space;

Figure 23 is a further detail;

Figure 24 is a detail of mechanism for givin an in and out motion to the transfer points in the act of transferring the initial course to the needies;

Figure 25 shows the mechanism by which the welt bars are raised;

Figure 25 shows the rack mechanism for advancing and retracting the bottom welt bar (or transfer bar) in the act of turning the welt;

Figure 27 shows the mechanism for picking off the top welt bar;

Figure 28 shows the draw-oi straps and welt wire take up.

In the drawings, the needles are indicated at ill, the sinkers at H and the knocking-over bits at 62. Transfer points E3, one to each needle space, are carried by a bottom welt car it or transfer bar and associated with the points !3 there are welt hooks i5 carried by a second welt bar 56. The welt hooks l5 are under-turned, that is to say the extremity E5 thereof is turned, underneath the shank or stem of the hook towards the front of the machine. During the initial course of the welt,.the bars i i, !5 are shcgged through half a needle space so that points l3 and hooks i5 register with the spaces between the needles. After the initial course of the welt has been sunk (and,if desired, divided.) as shown in Fig. l, the welt transfer points inserted horizontally into every nee-die space, between the sinkers El and the knockingover bits i2 as shown in Fig. 2. As a result, upon the retraction of the sinkers l l, the sinker kinks K of the initial course are relinquished by the sinker nehs and descend upon the points [3, Fig. 3. Both bars l4, [6, are now shogged back through half a needle space, so that the transfer points l3 extend over the heads of the needles and this permits the welt hooks E to be lowered, by a rocking motion of bar [6, between the sinker nebs to engage the points l3 as shown in Fig. 3. This arrangement is also shown in Fig. from which it will be seen that each point l3 has an eye l3a in its upper surface in which the tip of the associated welt hook is buried and the welt hook has an eye 55a in which the tip [3' of the point is buried. It may here be pointed out that the eye i511 terminates short of the bend or elbow [5b of the hook so that there is no danger of the top edge of the sinker neb catching its said eye during the descent of the hook Hi.

It will be appreciated that the engagement just described, and shown in Fig. 10 readily permits "1e sinker kinks K to slide off the points i3 into the hooks :5 upon movement of points and hooks, in unison away from the needles. This retraction continues, Fig. 4, with the points it and hooks it in engagement while the required number of welt courses is knitted. The number of courses may either be a predetermined section of the welt, or alternatively the whole welt. In the first instance the usual welt rod or wire I? must be inserted before the predetermined section of welt is completed. The predetermined section being controlled by stops on the slides, and the rod i"! being connected to the take-up straps, a bight of the well; fabric is drawn beneath the welt bars 5 26. in this movement of the fabric the kinks K of the initial course are drawn off the hooks l5 and along the points it until they are arrested by stops iZ-c; these stops are conveniently formed by a knee-like bend in the stem of each point or of spaced points (e. g. every third point). After the drawing of the kinks K off the hooks l5 onto the points it, the welt bar it is displaced to an imperative position. In the second instance, the u ual welt rod or wire I! may be inserted at any time during the knitting of the welt (see Fig. 5) and the complete welt is knitted before stopping the movement of the welt bars away from the needles. This is the method illustrated, and which is preferably employed.

It is now necessary to restore the kinks K of the initial course to the needles It. In the first instance, the welt bar l6 carrying the hooks l5 has been displaced to an inoperative position, and the bar it carrying the points i3 is advanced beneath it towards the needles. In the second instance, Fig. 6, both welt bars I l. H5 are advanced towards the needles in unison. The rod I? being attached to straps, isheld in position as the bars pass over it. It will be seen by this action that the kinks K of the initial course are drawn from the hooks 5 to the points l3 until they are arrested by stops 30. As both bars are further advanced to the needles (Fig. 7) top bar it is picked. or? bar is and is then displaced to an inoperative position.

In both instances the transfer bar i4!- is now advanced up to and swung over the needles so that the points l3 hang vertically downwards as in 8. It should here be stated that at this stage the machine has been put into a narrov ing motion and the points l3 go over the needles in at a time when a space is provided between the needles l9 and sinkers H to allow the kinks K of the initial. course to be brought over the needles and eventually underneath the sinkers. The completion of the narrowing motion with the points l3 contacting the needles IE! and partaking of appropriate transfer movements transfers the kinks to the needles. The engagement of points and needles is best seen in Fig. 11, from which it will be seen that each point l3 has an eye l3b in the underside or back of its shank which covers the beard Id of the associated needle l0 when the point it is inserted at the beard side of the needie. It may here be mentioned, however, that it is within the scope of the invention to insert the points at the plain side of the needles in which case the eye 1322 will be formed as a continuation of eye ltd.

During the transfer, the stops I30 position the kinks K so that they may be transfixed by the needles. After it has been effected the points l3 are disengaged from the needles I0 and they and their bar it are swung back to their original position beneath the hooks l5 and bar Hi to receive same and return to the starting position for the commencement of the next welt. The fabric continues to be drawn off in the usual manner through the medium of the welt rod 11, Fig. 9.

The mechanism by which the foregoing operations are effected will now be described. In this description it is convenient to refer to the approach of various parts towards the needles as their advance and their movement away from needles as their retraction or rearward movement, notwithstanding the fact that such rearward movement is in the direction of the front of the machine. In accordance with this terminology, the forward position of a movable part (such as a welt bar) is that in which it is near the needles, and the rear position thereof is that in which it is furthest away from the needles.

Referring primarily to Figs. 15 to 18 the bottom welt bar It. is carried by two endless chains 58 being attached thereto by screws l9, see Figure 18. The top welt bar It which carries the hooks i5 is detachably mounted on the bottom bar by means of the dowels 20 on bar l8 received in dowel holes in bar I4. The dowels 20 allow fore and aft rocking in the holes in the bar H! but no sidewise play. The dowels are shaped as best shown in Figure 16 and this shape permits the top welt bar l6 to rock on the bottom welt bar it as it is tipped forwards by spring loaded plungers 2! carried by the bar [6 so that the hooks 55 can engage the points l3 as shown in Figs. 4 and 15. The chains It in their upper lap run in grooves 22a in two frames or slides 22 which are secured to a rock shaft 23 and extend forwards towards the needles 10; these frames constitute a carriage for the bars l4 and i6. Normally, these frames occupy the horizontal attitude shown in Fig. 15 (in which they rest on the template rail 24) so that the bars M, H; travel in a horizontal path, but they may be raised to the attitude shown in Fig. 16 by rocking shaft so that the welt bars then travel in an inclined path. These frames 22 further carry at their rear end a sprocket shaft 25 on which the chain sprockets 26 are mounted, while near the needles if! the chains run downwards over a curved extremity 22b (Figs. 15 and 16) of the frames 22 and pass forward beneath guide rollers 2'! carried by the frames. The path of the chains is substantially triangular as shown in Figs. 15 and 16.

The sprockets 26 and the sprocket shaft 25 are rotated to traverse the chains I8 by means of the racks 23, 29 shown in Figs. 21 and 26. The rack 28 shown in Fig. 21 derives its motion from the main cam shaft 3!! while the rack 29 shown in Fig. 26 derives its motion from auxiliary cam shaft 31 which is located behind the main cam shaft, and is driven therefrom at the required time by bevel gears 32, 33, shaft as and bevel gears 35 and 86. The frames 22 are capable of being rocked about the axis of shaft 23 by the mechanism shown in Fig. 25 which also derives its motion from the shaft 3 I, and the said frames together with shafts 23 and 25 are movable towards and away from the needles if: by the mechanism shown in Fig. 24. For this purpose the shaft 2-3 is supported in bearing blocks 3-? car- 'ried by horizontal bars 38 slidable in guides 39 on the underside of template rail 24.

At the commencement of welting operations the welt are turned by hand to the position shown in Fig. 1'5 in which they are located by means of a detent it (Fig. 2 1) on the shaft 23, which engages a notched disc ti on the sprocket shaft stage disengaged from their respective pinions 5,2 and $3 on the shaft 25, while the control ramps hereinafter referred to, are in their rear position. The knocking-over bits 12 are displaced to their low position and the machine is con trolled in known manner for a slack course.

The conventional timing chain (Fig. 13a) now makes a racking movement and the stud such as now operates a stud lever 45 to move endwise control rod 5! running along the front "I i of the machine. This control rod M shifts the truck-shift lever 38 (Fig. 19) and brings a truck on truck lever (depending from press shaft 52), into register with cam 53 on the main cam shaft iii The truck lever iii therefore oscillates and by means of a clawker 5t actingon rack wheel 55 starts a front automatic shaft 56 racking. This automatic shaft 5i; is provided with a check wheel '57 acted on by a check pawl 58 on shaft 59. On the automatic shaft 56 there are various timing discs such as Si, 52 and 63 carrying cams Gil, t2, and 53'. Discs Bil and 63 serve to shift trucks so, as to be operated on by cams on the plain cam shaft (it, by means exemplified in Fig. 25. In this figure, disc Bl! shifts lever 54 thereby iging truck 55 into register with a cam 6'1; in alike manner requiring no further illustration truck 65 of Fig. 21 is also brought into register with a cam is. Truck as, now registering with cam fit is carried by truck lever 63 which is pivalong a horizontal path towards the needles in from the position shown in Fig. 15.

As the welt bars advance the initial slack course of the welt is drawn and divided and as they reach the forward extremity of their travel the bars are position d endwise by guides '12 on the frames 22. and are given a movement to the right of half needle space so that the welt hooks and transfer points it are aligned with the spaces between the needles it. This shogging ll tion is produced by the mechanism shown in which consists of a truck lever 13 pivoted on shaft 59 and carrying a truck hi positioned by the front automatic shaft 555 (in the manner shown in Fig. 20') for engagement by cam E5 on the main-cam shaft 30. As the'truck lever 1.311s

Bothof the racks Z8 and 29 are at this stage. They are engaged'by catches its on raised by this cam 15 it operates through turn buckle It to rock member '11 about shaft 52. This member I! carries an incline 18 which fits in an oblique groove in a member 19 on shaft 23. By reason of its incline the part 18 results in the shaft 2-3 being moved endwise carrying with it the frames -22 and the welt bars.

On continued forward movement of the welt bars M, it, lateral projections 16 of the top bar it engage ramps mounted near the front end of each frame 22, the overhanging formation of the guide l-Z that is 'shown in Figure 17 prevents the top bar It from being lifted off the bottom bar M by the ramps. These ramps it cause the top welt bar to tilt up so that it assumes the relative attitude shown in Fig. 2. This permits the transfer points '13 to be inserted between the needles l'fi beneath the sinkers H and above the lm'ocking-WerbitS l2, while the hooks !5 are positioned above the -sinkers. The needles it new descend between the knocking-over bits i2 and the welt bars are s'hogged back to the left by further operation of the mechanism shown in I -ig.-22. This positions the transfer instruments t3 and the hooks 1 5 above the heads of the needles it so that the hooks 15 may then descend between the sinkers H to engage with the transfer instruments as shown in Figs. 3 and 10. This descent of'the-hooks i5 is produced by moving the ramps it further towards theneedles so that they disengagefrom the top welt bar 1 6 and permit the latter to tilt downwards under the influence of plungers'Zl. For this purpose the ramps (which are biassed rearwards away from the needles by springs '85-) are attached .to rods 8| extending alongside the frames 22 which rods are movable by fingers 32, on rock shaft '83, engaged between steps 84 on the rods.

The mechanism for rocking this shaft 83 is shown in Fig. 23. It consists 'of a truck lever 85 (in-shaft 59 carrying the truck 86, which is positioned (by disc 621, and its cam 63', on the auto- 'matic shaft '56 operating through truck-shift lever 6 3 in the manner exemplified in Fig. 20)

to be engaged by a-cam "'81 on the main cam shaft from its pinion 42 by operation of the cam i8 as the needles rise forthe next course. 28 thereafter remains inoperative.

The front automatieshaft 56 now makes a further rack todisconnect the trucks such as 65, M and 3B, and the knocking-over bits i2 resume their normal height. Thereafter during the continuedknittin'g of the well; the welt bars I4, 16, are drawn away :from the'needles by the cord ilii (Fig. 28) which is permanently connected to the This rack sprocket shaft "25 andt'oweights I02. If desired during each pressing motion of the needles the pull of the cord "NH may be relaxed by mechanism well understood in the art.

.The welt rods [1 are inserted at any desired n-:l less draw-off straps i013 which as shown in Fig. 28 pass round draw-offrollers 1'65 ('onroller shaft ib'T-i having notches 5N6 :for "the reception of the irb'fis, 

